There are so many reasons that people decide to take part in national service. For some it’s the prospect of the education award and resume building, and for others (such as myself), it’s the opportunity to take part in something bigger than yourself and to have real, measurable impact that doesn’t revolve around profits or economic gain. I wanted to have a chance at achieving real change that could help better people’s lives and America as a whole. Through my AmeriCorps service, I’ve found that not only can I be successful in supporting those changes, but I can also feel a fantastic sense of pride and accomplishment in doing so.

Much of that success can be attributed to the relentless efforts put forth by my service site— The Montana Department of Labor. Over the past ten years, a team of fewer than ten people have been compiling massive amounts of market data and academic information to help create a tool that students, parents, teachers, and administrators can use to help assess and plan academic and career futures. Even adults who are looking to further their education or change careers can find its resources useful. We call it the Montana Career Information System (or MCIS for short), and we’re pretty dang proud of it.

In addition to providing these tools and resources, the Department of Labor also spends time working with businesses and schools to support students, parents, faculty, and business leaders by offering trainings, seminars, and career and college fairs all over the state of Montana.

The Department of Labor also does a lot of work in networking and organizing other groups who are involved in the field of education and career planning.

Just to name a few, Job Service Montana, Jobs for Montana Graduates, Montana Registered Apprenticeship, EdReady Montana, and Reach Higher Montana. All of these groups and organizations use data and organization from the Department of Labor to go out and shape the future of the state’s workforce.

And somewhere in all those actors is little old me. When you take a step back and look at everyone and everything involved, it seems like a single individual could only go so far, but I’ve personally been able to achieve real, measurable impact with both students and adults. In sitting down with students, I am able to help them assess their skills and interests, as well as teach them about the tools they need to research the pathways of their future. Sometimes it’s as simple as sitting down and reviewing the high school classes necessary to prepare them for success in their chosen college program, or going through a list of schools in Montana that offer the degrees and programs they’re interested in. We even have special partnerships with apprenticeship programs for students who don’t feel like university is the best choice for their future.

With teachers, counselors, and administrators, I train them in using the same system in conjunction with other tools in an effort to give them a new way to monitor student interests, activities, and projects. The results are almost immediately noticeable, especially at the rate we’re going! In first six weeks of service, I’ve already been able to train more than fifty individuals in using the MCIS, and engaged nearly one hundred students in college and career planning.

My AmeriCorps service so far has exceeded every expectation I had – and I’m certainly honored to be serving Montana to the very best of my abilities.